Lionsgate’s board of directors has rejected Carl Icahn’s takeover offer.
In a statement released Tuesday, Lionsgate said that its board had voted unanimously to reject Icahn’s offer to purchase all of the studio’s outstanding shares for $6.00 per share.
The board called Icahn’s latest offer “financially inadequate, coercive” and not in the best interest of shareholders.
Shares of Lionsgate were trading at $5.88 per share Tuesday morning, up about 5 percent.
Icahn made the amended offer on Friday, a week after Lionsgate’s board rejected a bid to buy roughly 30 percent of the studio’s outstanding shares at the same price.
“We believe that nothing has changed — the offer remains financially inadequate and still does not reflect the full value of Lionsgate shares,” Lionsgate co-chairman and CEO Jon Feltheimer said in a statement. “The only substantive change is that the Icahn Group is now bidding for full control of the Company without offering a meaningful vision, without demonstrating a relevant track record of industry experience and without paying a control premium. We believe that this financially inadequate proposal stands in stark contrast to our patient, disciplined strategy of building a strong and diversified Company step by step over the past 10 years under a seasoned Board of Directors and an experienced management team. Our plan for continuing to grow our portfolio of businesses is reflected in our ongoing achievements and initiatives each week.”
Liongate said the latest offer is an attempt to gain control of the entire studio without paying what Wall Street analysts say it is worth – or 46.3 percent more than Icahn’s $6.00 per share offer.
The studio also said that the Icahn Group “lacks industry experience,” and that Icahn’s plan to replace certain board members would lead to “potentially volatile period of transition,” as the group itself admitted.
More to read:
Icahn Ups Offer, Now Wants All of Lionsgate
Lionsgate Rejects Icahn’s $78.9M Bid
